HOW ENGLAND SAVED EUROPE.*
IN the book before us Mr. Fitchett, the well-known author of Deeds that it the Empire and Fights for the Flag, under- Role Englund Saved Europe: the Story of the Great War (2793-1815). By W. H. Fltebett, BA., LL.D. In 4 vole. N o'. I., "From the Low Countrie3 to Egypt." London : Smith, Elder, and Co. ea]
better known as Ian Maclaren, that the religion of takes to tell the history of the Great War with France,—the
Protestants, so far from being the Bible, should be limited to war which lasted from 1793 till 1813 almost without a break. the very words of Christ, if not to the Sermon on the Mount. His method of narration may be best described as episodic.
Besides pointing to the usual and sufficient reply to this He does not, that is. attempt a continuous narrative of all position that our Lord expressly intimated at His with- the events by sea and land and of all the political movements drawal from earth that He had not said all that was necessary and changes at home and on the Continent, but instead gives to be said, Dr. Stalker advances the following arguments. us in chronological order and with a few connecting links a First, that even if Jesus had spoken fully on His religion series of pictures, naval and military. By this means the from the point of view of the Giver of salvation, we should great pageant of the war passes before our eyes as in a moving still have required an authoritative explanation from the panorama. This may not be the history required by the point of view of the receiver. Secondly, that Christ Himself student and the politician, but it is exactly the sort of history is more than His words. " His association with publicans and desired by the million. In truth, it is a revival of the oldest sinners was no less significant than were the parables of form of historic narration known to man. Mr. Fitchett's St. Luke 13; His weeping over Jerusalem was more eloquent episodes of war are in reality veracious prose ballads. Just than anything He said on patriotism, His sufferings and as the Homeric harpers told in a series of episodes the various death were far more suggestive than anything He ever said events of the Trojan War, just as the Gleernen sang how the about sin." Thirdly, that Christ's words are not dogmatic :— Angles and Saxone conquered England, just as the Border minstrels sang of Chevy Chace and a hundred other forays, just as at this moment tales of war are sung on the Indian frontier or in the deserts of Arabia or the Soudan, so Mr. Fitchett, using the medium of his age, and selecting from actual records rather than relying on tradition, recounts the high deeds of the past, and sets forth the wars of Nelson and Wellington.
As yet only the first volume of Mr. Fitcbett's book is published, but we venture to think that it will not prove the
least interesting. And for this reason. It deals with a portion of the land side of the Great War of which most people have very little knowledge indeed. As a rule, people are apt to assume that our share in the Continental cam- paigns only began with the Peninsular War. They forget the engagements, very little glorious to our commanders, though full of glory to our men, which took place in the Low Countries at the very outset of the war. For example, how many Englishmen have heard of Vicoigne, where the Coldstreanie carried the enemy's entrenchments at the point of the bayonet, or—unless they are Guardsmen—remember "Lincelles " P But though our troops fought well, they and their allies were several times driven back ; and at Tourcoing we actually lost nineteen guns out of twenty-eight. It was in Flanders, however, that the French first came across the Duke of Wellington. This episode shall be given in Mr. Fitchett's own spirited words :— " Wellesley greatly distinguished himself in the retreat. In the attack on Boatel the assault filled, the British were falling back, and in a narrow way horsemen and infantry were mingled in leaderless confusion. 'l'he French saw their opportunity, and their cavalry came forward at speed. Suddenly a steadfast red line was drawn across the road in the path of the galloping horsemen. Wellesley had opened the files of the 33rd to let the tumult of broken infantry and cavalry flow through, then, closing his Sles again, he waited for the French attack. The horsemen came on at a furious pace; Wellesley, with charac- teristic coolness, held his fire till the French were within pistol- shot distance, then he threw in a volley so sure and deadly that the foremost horses and men tumbled before it, and the rear ranks swung round and galloped off. Wellesley, in this, his first serious fight, was only twenty-five years old, but he showed a touch of that iron coolness and genius for battle which explains the Peninsula and Waterloo. The 33rd formed part of the rear- guard in that disastrous and bitter retreat, and it is curious to reflect how the course of history might have been changed if Wellesley had fallen, the leader of a beaten rear-guard, in some distracted skirmish amongst the swamps and dykes of Holland."
It is pleasant to turn from our military muddles in the earlier part of the war to our almost unvarying successes at sea. Mr. Fitchett tells with all his accustomed vigour and picturesque- ness the glorious history of the war by sea. Nothing could be better than his rendering of the story of Camperdown, which in true ballad style opens with an account of how, while Pitt was sitting after dinner at Weimer Castle "drinking a glass of wine" with his guests, "a smuggler came abruptly into the room," and told how he had seen the Dutch and British fleets engaged, and how the British were victorious. Our readers will follow the battle for themselves; we shall only quote the following charming passage telling first of naval chivalry and good manners, and then of naval piety,—a piety as sincere as it was vigorous :— " De Winter himself was carried a prisoner to England, and it marks both his Dutch phlegm and the equal Scottish co ilness of his victor that, on the evening of the engagement, they played a friendly rubber of whist together in Duncan's cabin. De Winter was beaten, upon which he observed with a smile, ' It is rather hard to be beaten twice in one day by the same opponent.'
Dunce° took Liq victory with characteristic sobriety. Acco riling Ralfe, after the action was over, he, in presence of the Dutch admiral, called alf his crew on deck, and with faces still blackened with the smoke of the fight, they knelt, admiral and seamen together, on the shot-torn planks, and offered thanksgiving to God for the victory. In England the news of the battle was re- ceived with overwhelming joy. It was not merely that one more triumph was added to British naval records. The shadow of threatened invasion had vanished. The loyalty as well as the lighting qualities of the British fleet had been triumphantly I emonstrated."
But if it warms the heart to read of our naval victories, it warms them almost more to read the story—and admirably does Mr. Fitchett tell it—of the mutiny in the Fleet at Spithead. The men had great grievances, yet almost their first thought was to assure the Government against which they were in insurrection that the mutiny would be at an end-if the French put to sea. It is difficult to keep patience at the thought of the Admiralty allowing such men to be cheated and starved and ill-treated. Here is Mr. Fitchett's account of the men's grievances, compiled with great skill, for instead of being a dead abstract, it gives, when possible, the men's own words :- " The Magna Charta of the seamen at Spithead, the catalogue of their grievances, is almost touching by its simplicity and reasonableness. It was a forecastle Bill of Rights with five clauses. The hunger-bitten Jacks demanded—(l) That our pro- visions be raised to the rate of sixteen ounces to the pound, and of a better quality.' The purser, it is to be noted, deducted two ounces out of every pound of meat in Jack's beef-kid, and of flour in his pudding, as his perquisite. The purser of the period had no fixed salary ; he was paid by gains of this character, and, natur- ally, as his perquisites expanded the rations of the sailors shrank. (2) 'Your petitioners request that your honours will be pleased to -observe that there shall be no flour served while we are in harbour '—Jack, that is, wanted fresh bread while in port, instead .of weevily biscuits. Also, ' that it might be granted that there be a sufficient quantity of vegetables of such kinds as may be most plentiful in the ports to which we go.' Clause 3 asked for' better care of the sick, and that the necessaries for the sick be not on any z-swount embezzled.' Clause 4 asked 'that we may be looked upon .as a number of men standing in defence of our country, and that we may in some wise have grant and opportunity to taste the sweets of liberty on shore when in any harbour, and we have com- peted the duty of our ship after our return from sea," Which,' Aldded Jack, ' is a natural request, and congenial to the heart of man.' Clause 5 asked if any man is wounded in action, his pay ire continued until he is cured and discharged.' Jack's mutiny, in short, was based not on 'the rights of man,' but on the 'villainous condition of the beef-tub. It represented, not any yearnings for 'fraternity,' but only for fresh vegetables when in port. The sailors added, We likewise agree in opinion that we should suffer double the hardships we have hitherto experienced 'before we would suffer the crown of England to be in the least imposed upon by that of any other power in the world.' But they went on to declare that they would not weigh anchor until their grievances were redressed, ' except in the case of the -enemy's fleet putting to sea.' In that event Jack was cheerfully -willing to suspend his complaints until he had thrashed the Frenchmen ; then he would return, fresh and happy, to discuss matters again with their honours, the Lords of the Admiralty.' The sailors, having determined to temporarily take possession of the fleet, carried out their plans with great art and resolution. A quaint strain of loyalty, and of respect for discipline and for their officers—or for most of them—ran, however, through their mutinous proceedings. Order was enforced with rough sternness. The Jacks of the fleet, indeed, plied the whip more «nergetically on each others' backs during the interregnum of C he mutiny than their own officers ever dreamed of doing in the days of their unchallenged authority. A captain was appointed from each forecastle 'to see that watches were kept and order eibserved.' A thread of boyishness runs through Jack's Character, and it was gravely ordered that the crew of each vessel should man the foreshrouds at eight o'clock every morning, and deliver three loud cheers into space ; in this sonorous, but somewhat inarticulate fashion, proclaiming to each other and to the world that the mutiny was still in existence. On Sunday, again, during divine service, all the boats of the fleet were manned, and the seamen rowed in procession round the harbour. The crew of one ship, the Royal Charlotte,' having failed to cheer with due punctuality and heartiness at eight o'clock, they were warned that they would be fired into next morning unless their cheers had the necessary volume ; and the vocal perform- ances of the offending ship on the next day were waited for by the sea-dogs on every forecastle in a severely critical mood. A rope with a noose at its and hung from the fore-yard-arm of every vessel, as an expressive hint of what would happen to any offender. Any sailor getting drank was flogged by his fellow- seamen with extraordinary vigour. The zeal of the fleet, indeed, for temperance was surprising."
We can quote no more of Mr. Fitchett's delightful book, and shall only say in conclusion that the work is worthy of the author of Deeds that Won the Empire and Fights for the Flag. We look forward with a keen sense of pleasure to the three more 'volumes promised to complete the work.
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